Premier League 2026/27: Gameweek 4 Preview and Predictions
Gameweek 4 of the 2026/27 Premier League season arrives this weekend with another round of mouth-watering contests.
With Champions League and League Cup action happening midweek, we could witness a couple of unexpected results. This weekend brings interesting encounters between the Cherries and the Bees, Liverpool and Fulham, Sunderland and Arsenal, followed by the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Here, we present our previews and predictions for all matches of Gameweek 4 of the 2026/27 Premier League season.
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest
The Villans made a winning start to their Champions League campaign with a 3–2 away win against Club Brugge. John McGinn, Emi Buendía, and Nicholas Jackson were on the scoresheet with first-half goals. As for Forest, they played out a goalless draw against Spurs at home last weekend, although there was a controversial decision involved that denied them a goal and, possibly, all three points.
Villa could be without Amadou Onana, Brian Madjo, and new signings Leon Goretzka and Johan Manzambi for this game, with João Gomes serving a suspension. As for Forest, they have two players on the sidelines, with Ibrahim Sangaré and Nicolò Savona out injured.
Aston Villa haven’t made the greatest of starts in the Premier League and currently sit in the bottom three with two losses and a draw. Moreover, they have defensive frailties that were also exposed in their Champions League opener, which led to them conceding two goals. Villa tend to play well at home, but they have lost key players and seem to be blowing hot and cold, hence we believe this could be a game where Forest exploit their weakness with a well-rested front line and come away with all three points.
Score Prediction: Aston Villa 1–2 Nottingham Forest
Bournemouth vs Brentford
Bournemouth will go into this game with a lot of confidence after thrashing Lincoln City by four goals in the third round of the League Cup in midweek. They would be particularly happy with the clean sheet, as they have been guilty of conceding goals. Brentford, meanwhile, are scheduled to play in the fourth round of the League Cup against Reading next week and were able to have a full week’s rest. Last weekend, they had to settle for a draw at home against Sunderland.
Injury-wise, Bournemouth will have to make do without Eli Junior Kroupi, Amine Adli, Julián Araujo, and Veljko Milosavljevic. As for Brentford, they will miss a couple of players in Nathan Collins, Sepp van den Berg, Antonio Milambo, Mathias Jensen, and Joshua Dasilva.
The Cherries have had no issues in scoring goals, but they have shown a pattern of conceding late goals and losing points from winning positions. This has happened in all of their three league games against Man City, Everton, and Newcastle. If they can keep their concentration and defend well, they can secure the three points here. As good as Brentford are at home, their away performances weren’t great last season and they only won six times on the road.
We believe the hosts will nick this one in a closely contested encounter and finally get a win.
Score Prediction: Bournemouth 2–1 Brentford
Chelsea vs Hull City
After the derby defeat away at the Emirates last weekend, Chelsea returned to winning ways against Leeds United in the third round of the League Cup in midweek, thrashing the Whites 6–3. Although they scored half-a-dozen goals, their defence remains a bit of an issue. As for Hull City, they could not continue their impressive start to the season and were knocked out of the League Cup by Sunderland.
Chelsea’s injury list includes Moisés Caicedo, Jordan Henderson, and Marco Palestra, with Hull missing Joe Gelhardt, Jack Butland, Darko Gyabi, Charlie Hughes, Oscar Zambrano, and Eliot Matazo for this game.
The Blues started the season with two wins before losing to Arsenal last Gameweek, with their defensive issues more than evident. In contrast, the Tigers are yet to concede a goal in the league and are unbeaten with two wins and a draw. This may seem easy on paper, but it could be a tricky encounter for the hosts. However, looking at their front line, we have Xabi Alonso’s men as clear favourites for the win.
Score Prediction: Chelsea 2–1 Hull City
Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town
The Eagles come into this game on the back of a comprehensive 3–0 win against Middlesbrough in the League Cup in midweek. Palace also came away with a win at Craven Cottage last weekend. As for Ipswich Town, they lost last weekend to Liverpool at home courtesy of an early brace from Alexander Isak.
For Palace, the list of players missing for this game comprises Honest Ahanor, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Ismaïla Sarr, and Chadi Riad. Ipswich, on the other hand, will be without Azor Matusiwa, Jack Taylor, and Jaden Philogene-Bidace.
Palace have now won two back-to-back games and usually play well at Selhurst Park. Jørgen Strand Larsen scored a brace in midweek and could pose a danger for the Ipswich defence. The Tractor Boys may also find it difficult to score against a disciplined Palace defence. Therefore, we believe the Eagles will continue their winning streak with three important points at home here.
Score Prediction: Palace 2–0 Ipswich Town
Liverpool vs Fulham
Liverpool opened their Champions League campaign with a fairly decent performance against LaLiga heavyweights Atlético Madrid, coming back from a 1–0 deficit to win 2–1. As for their opponents, the Cottagers have started the new season poorly and are 19th in the league table with three straight losses. The only edge the visitors have over the hosts is a week’s rest coming into this fixture.
Liverpool could be without Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitiké, Geovanni Leoni, Joe Gomez, and Federico Chiesa, who are out with injuries, with the in-form Cody Gakpo doubtful as well. Fulham could be without Tom Cairney, who is out with a knee injury.
This match-up has brought us many entertaining fixtures in the last couple of seasons, featuring last-gasp draws and winners. However, Fulham look very average, while Liverpool are starting to settle into Andoni Iraola’s style of play. The hosts could make a slow start and even concede a goal, but we believe they should end this game with a win.
Score Prediction: Liverpool 3–1 Fulham
Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton
Spurs are yet to record a win in the league and played out a goalless draw against Nottingham Forest last weekend after losing their first two games. As for Everton, they earned a dramatic late draw at home against Manchester United courtesy of a banger of a goal from Ainsley Maitland-Niles on his debut for the Toffees.
Since neither team are in Europe and have their League Cup ties scheduled for next week, they both had fully rested squads for this game. Spurs still have a fair few players out, though, with James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Xavi Simons, and Wilson Odobert out with injuries, while Everton could miss James Garner and new signing Christian Nørgaard.
Spurs are definitely going through a transition phase, with several new players in the starting line-up looking to find their feet, and while they didn’t concede a goal against Forest, they are also yet to score a goal in the league. Everton, meanwhile, came back well against United to earn a point, but their performance by and large wasn’t great. This is a tough one to call, but we believe Spurs will open their scoring account for the season here and get at least another point.
Score Prediction: Spurs 1–1 Everton
Sunderland vs Arsenal
The Black Cats knocked Hull City out of the League Cup in the third round this midweek. They are the first team to score a goal against a solid Hull defence that is yet to concede a goal in the league. Their opponents for this game, Arsenal, came away with an important away win against Italian side Napoli in the Champions League.
After losing to Ipswich on the opening day, Sunderland have recovered well to win two games and draw one. Arsenal, meanwhile, have won all their four games so far, three in the league and one in the Champions League, maintaining a 100% win record.
Habib Diarra may be unavailable for the Wearside team for this game, with the Gunners set to miss Jurriën Timber, William Saliba, and Cristhian Mosquera.
Last season, Sunderland managed to hold Arsenal to a draw at the Stadium of Light, though Mikel Arteta’s men look even stronger this time around. They may not be scoring freely, but they are solid at the back and can easily defend even a one-goal lead. However, the Black Cats have a couple of players in attack that can trouble the Arsenal defence, hence we feel this could be a cagey affair, which the visitors should be able to win narrowly.
Score Prediction: Sunderland 1–2 Arsenal
Coventry City vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Frank Lampard’s Coventry City may have qualified for the Premier League by winning the Championship, but life has been hard for them in the Big Time so far. They are sitting at the bottom of the league table with three losses from their opening three games. In their last game, against Manchester City, they showed a lot of fight and character and lost by a solitary goal.
As for the Seagulls, they have had mixed results to start their campaign, having had a win, a loss, and a draw. Their last match was a 1–1 draw against Leeds United last weekend.
For this game, Coventry could be without Haji Wright, Kaine Kesler-Hayden, and Luke Woolfenden. Brighton, on the other hand, have been struggling on the personnel front with several key players out: Georginio Rutter, Mats Wieffer, Kaoru Mitoma, Jack Hinshelwood, Evan Ferguson, Yankuba Minteh, Femi Azeez, and Stefanos Tzimas are all on the sidelines for this fixture.
Although Coventry haven’t had positive results, this is a chance to get points on the board. Brighton have been clearly weakened by injuries, though they still have a few players that can trouble the Coventry defence. We believe Coventry have a good chance of earning a draw in this game.
Score Prediction: Coventry 1–1 Brighton
Leeds United vs Newcastle United
The Whites suffered a crushing defeat in the third round of the League Cup against Chelsea in midweek. After comfortably going 2-0 up, they were blown apart by the Blues’ front line and ended up losing 6–3. In contrast, Newcastle United had a far from chaotic game and won 1–0 away against Millwall in the League Cup to proceed to the fourth round.
In the league last weekend, both Leeds and Newcastle played out draws against their respective opponents. The Tyneside team remain unbeaten this season and are looking good under new head coach Mathias Jaissle.
For this game, Leeds may miss Joe Rodon, Mateo Joseph, and Ilia Gruev, with Newcastle set to be without William Osula, Dan Burn, and Joelinton.
Both teams have been in decent form in the league. While Leeds are a defensively solid side, Newcastle have the frontline to trouble most opposition defences. This could be another end-to-end encounter, which we expect to end in a draw.
Score Prediction: Leeds 2–2 Newcastle
